• county
  • FIPS 06025
  • Largest town: El Centro

Imperial County, California

Imperial County had 181,724 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 4,175.5 square miles of land. It ranks 30th of 58 in California by population and 10th by land area.

Population
181,724
#30 of 58 in California · #383 in US
Area
4,175.5 sq mi
#10 of 58 in California · #115 in US
Density
44 / sq mi
#41 of 58 in California · #1,597 in US
Median household income
$58,768
#54 of 58 in California · #1,963 in US

Census Vintage 2024 estimates · SAIPE 2023 income · 2024 Gazetteer land area

Imperial County within California. Pin: Sacramento.

Measure from here

Tools and pages that start from Imperial County

Imperial County population, land area and income

Imperial County had 181,724 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 4,175.5 square miles of land. It ranks 30th of 58 in California by population and 10th by land area. That works out to 43.5 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in California has 187,274 residents, about the same as Imperial County.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $58,768 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

National rank among 3,144

Population

181,724

3144th1st

383rd of 3,144 (US)

Land area

4,176 sq mi

3144th1st

115th of 3,144 (US)

Density

43.5 / sq mi

3144th1st

1597th of 3,144 (US)

Median household income

$58,768

3143rd1st

1963rd of 3,143 (US)

Rank within California (58)

Population

181,724

58th1st

30th of 58 (CA)

Land area

4,176 sq mi

58th1st

10th of 58 (CA)

Density

43.5 / sq mi

58th1st

41st of 58 (CA)

Median household income

$58,768

58th1st

54th of 58 (CA)

How Imperial County's population changed since 2020

Imperial County gained 1,994 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 1.1%. That ranks 17th of 58 in California for growth. The median California county changed by -0.6%, and the state as a whole by -0.2%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Imperial County recorded 10,305 births and 6,472 deaths, a natural change of +3,833. Net international migration added +3,352 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -5,284. The largest single component was domestic migration, which removed 5,284 people.

179.7k2020179.2k2021179.8k2022180.6k2023181.7k2024
Census Vintage 2024 county estimates for July 1 of each year. The axis starts above zero so year-to-year changes are visible.

Components of change, April 2020 to July 2024

Births
10,305
Deaths
6,472
Net international migration
+3,352
Net domestic migration
-5,284
Change, July 2023 to July 2024
+1,139

Where Imperial County is

The Census internal point of Imperial County is at 33.040800, -115.355400. It sits in UTM zone 11N. The map shades California's 58 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Imperial County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Los Angeles County: -2.4%Kings County: +1.4%Sierra County: -3.6%Riverside County: +4.3%Santa Barbara County: -0.8%San Bernardino County: +1.4%Nevada County: -0.1%Santa Clara County: +0.1%Yuba County: +6.7%Fresno County: +1.4%Plumas County: -4.7%Monterey County: -1.0%Amador County: +3.6%Alameda County: -1.9%Tulare County: +2.0%San Joaquin County: +4.5%Alpine County: -6.8%Siskiyou County: -3.4%Butte County: -0.9%Kern County: +1.8%San Diego County: -0.1%Sacramento County: +1.5%Ventura County: -1.0%Yolo County: +3.4%Lake County: -0.6%Napa County: -3.4%Tehama County: -1.9%San Francisco County: -5.4%El Dorado County: +0.8%Calaveras County: +2.5%Inyo County: -2.7%Shasta County: -0.6%Lassen County: -12.3%San Luis Obispo County: -0.0%Mariposa County: -0.5%Trinity County: -2.8%Contra Costa County: +0.6%Mendocino County: -2.4%Imperial County: +1.1%Santa Cruz County: -3.4%Placer County: +6.9%Orange County: -0.5%San Benito County: +7.2%Marin County: -1.9%San Mateo County: -2.6%Colusa County: +0.9%Del Norte County: -2.2%Solano County: +0.5%Glenn County: -2.0%Tuolumne County: -2.7%Sonoma County: -0.6%Humboldt County: -2.9%Mono County: -1.8%Stanislaus County: +0.6%Merced County: +4.9%Sutter County: -0.9%Madera County: +5.8%Modoc County: -2.1%
Change 2020 to 2024
  1. < -2.7%
  2. < -1.0%
  3. < -0.0%
  4. < +1.5%
  5. ≥ +1.5%
no data

Orange pin: Imperial County internal point. Dark pin: Sacramento.

Internal point

Decimal
33.040800, -115.355400
DMS
33°02'26.88"N 115°21'19.44"W
UTM
11N 653569.5E 3657012.0N
Geohash
9mvgznbu8
Plus code
85562JRV+8R

Towns in Imperial County

7 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Imperial County, 147,443 people together, or 81% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Imperial County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is El Centro with 44,230.

  1. 01El Centro44,230
  2. 02Calexico38,744
  3. 03Brawley28,188
  4. 04Imperial22,102
  5. 05Calipatria6,522
  6. 06Holtville5,612
  7. 07Westmorland2,045
Census Vintage 2024 subcounty estimates, county parts of incorporated places (SUMLEV 157).

Counties bordering Imperial County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 4 neighbors for Imperial County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is San Diego County, CA, with 3,298,799 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

Distance to Sacramento and the nearest big city

Sacramento is 514.2 miles NW of Imperial County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Yuma, AZ (population 103,559), 60.5 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Brawley, CA (population 28,188), 10.9 miles away.

Imperial County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Imperial County is 06025: state code 06 for California plus county code 025. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $58,768.

Questions people ask

What is the population of Imperial County, California?

The Census Vintage 2024 estimate for July 1, 2024 is 181,724. That is up 1,994 people (1.1%) from the July 2020 estimate of 179,730.

What is the FIPS code of Imperial County?

06025. The first two digits (06) are California; the last three (025) identify the county.

What is the largest town in Imperial County?

El Centro, with 44,230 residents inside Imperial County in 2024.

Which counties border Imperial County?

4 county-equivalents border it in the Census 2024 adjacency file: San Diego County, CA; Riverside County, CA; Yuma County, AZ; La Paz County, AZ.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Vintage 2024 subcounty population estimates
  5. 05Census 2024 county adjacency file
  6. 06Census 2024 cartographic boundary file, counties (1:5,000,000)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.